title: Both primitive and definitive blood cells are derived from Flk-1+ mesoderm.
abstract: Emerging evidence suggests that all hematopoietic and endothelial cells originate from Flk-1(+) mesoderm in the mouse. However, this concept has not been completely proven, especially for the origin of blood cells. Using either Flk1(+/Cre);Rosa26R-EYFP or Flk1(+/Cre);Rosa26R-LacZ mice, we permanently marked Flk-1(+) cells and their progenies to determine the relationship between hematopoietic tissues and cells that express Flk-1. In embryos, all blood cells within the yolk sac and aorta were of Flk-1(+) origin. In addition, nearly all CD45(+) cells in bone marrow and circulating blood in adults were of Flk-1(+) origin. These results provide clear evidence that all blood cells, primitive and definitive, in mice are derived from Flk-1(+) mesodermal cells.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology and Immunology, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO 63110, USA.
authors.forename: Jesse J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Lugus
authors.forename: Changwon
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Yunglin D
authors.initials: YD
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.forename: Kyunghee
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Choi
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001773:Blood Cells / Q000166:cytology*; D001853:Bone Marrow / Q000196:embryology*; D019070:Cell Lineage / Q000502:physiology; D004622:Embryo, Mammalian; D006410:Hematopoiesis / Q000502:physiology*; D008648:Mesoderm / Q000196:embryology*; D051379:Mice; D008817:Mice, Mutant Strains; D040301:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor-2 / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D040301:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor-2